Generically, the direct synthesis or process or aka “the Rochow direct process or synthesis” is recognized to include the reactions of promoted silicon with hydrogen halides, alkyl halides, alcohols, and dimethylamine. Alcohols and alkyl ethers may be used in combination with hydrogen halides and alkyl halides. The direct synthesis is the principal process for commercially making organosilicon compounds. However, alkyl ethers with or without alkyl halides have not been employed in any commercial process for making alkylsilanes and alkylsiloxanes. The commercial processes involve the exothermic reaction of methyl chloride or methanol with copper catalyzed particulate activated silicon. In the first stage of the reaction, they produce the methylchlorosilanes in the case of the methyl chloride reaction or methoxysilanes in the case of the methanol reaction. Catalyzation of the reaction with silicon is achieved in these commercial processes using copper per se or copper compounds. However, the art teaches that silver or silver compounds may be used as the catalyst. In its preferred and most commercial embodiment, the Rochow direct process involves the reaction of methyl chloride within a fluidized bed of activated silicon that is catalyzed by copper with additional promoters, such as aluminum, tin, zinc, phosphorus, and the like, including compounds containing such elements. (See, Rochow, CHEMISTRY of the SILICONES, second edition, pages 36-411, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1951 and Noll, Chemistry and Technology of Silicones, 1968, published by Academic Press, New York, N.Y., starting at page 26.2). 1 Incorporated by reference.2 Pages 26 through 41 of Noll, infra, are incorporated herein by reference. (Specific reference is made to footnotes 200-209 of Noll, cited at page 65)
According to Rochow (page 36 supra):                “There are several widely different methods for the synthesis of organosilicon compounds that have but one feature in common: they do not require other organometallic compounds as reagents, nor do they employ stoichiometric quantities of active metals for the preparation of such organometallic reagents in situ. The first of these methods to be considered employs elementary silicon as the source of that element; the others employ the reaction of hydrocarbons with suitable compounds of silicon.”        
Illustrative of the variety of chlorosilanes produced in the first stage of the Rochow direct synthesis, reference is made to Ward, et al., “EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF PHOSPHORUS IN THE DIRECT PROCESS WITH A FIXED BED REACTOR,” at page 309 of Silicon for the Chemical Industry V, Tromso, Norway, May 29-Jun. 2, 2000, Trondheim, Norway 2000 published by Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway), which they characterize as follows:

“Me” stands for the methyl group
The commercial methylsilicones are made by the hydrolysis of methylchlorosilanes generated by the Rochow fluidized bed process and the condensation of the hydrolyzate into methylsiloxanes (methyl silicones). Of the methyl silicones, dimethyl silicones are the most widely utilized. Consequently, there is a strong preference for increasing the yield of and selectivity to dimethyldichlorosilane in the direct process. According to Rochow (page 38 supra): “The direct synthesis . . . it is best suited to the preparation of dialkyl- or diaryldihalosilanes, and the operation of the reaction is more satisfactory if limited further to the chlorosilanes and bromosilanes.” Dialkylsilicon esters (e.g., alkoxides) are not made commercially by the direct process. As noted from the first stage (I) equation, byproduct silicon chlorides are inevitably formed in carrying out the direct synthesis. Because the direct synthesis is commercially carried out as a fluid bed process, the typical issues of fluid bed fines and disilanes as well as coking3 within the bed (inducing bed agglomeration) represent significant first stage processing problems. Essentially all of these byproducts and bed contamination represent environmentally hazardous and corrosive materials and their presence adds materially to the cost of making the dimethyldichlorosilane. 3 See The Lewis Report's reference to the work of Kim and Rethwisch, infra.
Whereas the commercial processes that are employed to make alkyl-silicon halides, particularly methyl and ethyl silicon halides, are typically carried out in a gas/vapor dynamic particulate fluidized or stirred bed of promoted silicon metal particles; the methoxysilanes, such as tetramethylsilicate, trimethoxysilane, and dimethoxysilane, are formed by the direct reaction of alcohol with silicon slurried in an inert liquid. Trimethoxysilane is commercially made in Italy by the reaction of methanol with silicon slurried in an inert liquid. These processes are discussed in greater detail below. Such methoxysilanes can be made by the non-direct process reaction of a chlorosilane with methanol.